Page 131 of Bishop's Queen

Tara went into analyzing mode, her eyes bouncing between the both of them. “Are you no longer banging his brains out?”

“Tara,” Ella hissed.

Bishop raised his eyebrows, clearly hearing that. Spinning away, he headed for the bathroom.

Tara watched the door slam before her entire animated personality flew into top gear, wide eyed and mouth agape. “What is going on?”

“I crossed the line, and he told me so.”

“Why?”

“I made that video we talked about.”

“Yeah? You didn’t say anything in that—”

“I did it from my real bedroom. It was too much for him.”

Tara pursed her lips. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“He has his reasons. It struck too close to home.”

Tara crossed her arms and tapped her expensively clad foot. “That’s some bullshit.” That was one thing about Tara—she was fierce and didn’t hold back. Ella could see how she got her way with as many reporters as she did.

The bathroom door opened, and Bishop walked out, adjusting his earpiece. Tara straightgrowledat him, and Ella didn’t call her off.

Bishop didn’t flinch. “Schedule says we hit the road in two minutes. Limo’s waiting downstairs. Ready?”

“Of course we’ll be ready,” Tara snapped. “It’s what we do.”

“Glad you have your game face on.” Bishop tugged at his wrist, pulling at a wire in his sleeve. “You run offense, I’ll stay on D, and then, in the end, we’ll see what was worth it.”

Great.Tara versus Bishop wasn’t what she needed before the big event.

Tara turned to the table and gathered items into a bag, while Ella walked to the giant picture window and stared out into the city. The afternoon light painted New York in a beautiful, albeit overpopulated, glow. Nerves always tickled before events, and this one had a new twist for her: an award presenter. Maybe she would pick up an award too, but mostly, the purpose of tonight was to garner buzz and keep relevance, all of which made Tara so,sohappy.

Tara spun to her. “Ready?”

“Yup.” She stared at the bustling traffic below, trying not to bite and chap her lips too badly before the cameras zoomed in.

“Great. I’ll be in the hall.” Bishop stormed out, letting the door slam behind him.

With him went an air of tension, and Ella could suddenly breathe better. She dropped her head back—

Tara whistled. “Holy. Shit. Woman. What on earth did you do to that man?”

“Nothing I hadn’t done before.” No matter what he had explained or what she’d said, they had an impasse as big as the gap in their history. “We should go.”

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